South Africa is blessed with some of the finest biking territory on this planet. Unfortunately we also have some of the worst per capita road statistics.

This should call for some serious consideration when choosing a motorcycle safety helmet as well as a close examination of its inherent safety credentials.

It needs to be accepted that riding, whilst providing an extremely high level of pleasure, is still a vulnerable activity and comes with great responsibility. Think of your quality of life and how easily it could be destroyed, not to mention the people around you that need you to come home safely.

Desert Fox are unrelenting in their quest to offer the highest level of realistic protection in a motorcycle safety helmet, coupled with day long comfort.

Their priority is and remains safety above gimmicks and perceived nice-to-haves.

An integrated anti-theft buckle allows you to lock the helmet to your bike. Also included are a helmet bag and an additional peak for personal customization.

This motorcycle safety helmet is tested and certified to the European ECE 22.05 standard, which is used internationally in over 50 countries including Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Austria, Sweden, Belgium, United Kingdom, Japan and Australia. It is also the standard used for high-level motorcycle racing classes including MotoGP, Formula USA, AMA, WERA and CCS. Virtually every professional motorcycle racer competing in world championship road racing, motocross or off road events will use a helmet that is certified to ECE 22.05.

Makrolon® Visor

Constructed from Makrolon®, a patented high tech product from Bayer Material Science, Germany, developed especially for lenses.

Makrolon® is highly transparent and impact resistant from -40°C to over 100°C. Virtually splinter-proof, it is the first choice for practitioners of dangerous sports. Snowboarders, F1 racing drivers, inline skaters, ice-hockey players, skiers, and pro cyclists all rely on lightweight yet rugged products made of high-tech Makrolon®. The World Bobsleigh Association, for example, officially equips its teams with visors made of Makrolon®.

A drop down visor creates a void, in some instances finger thick between the helmets inner EPS liner and outer shell . This compromises the ability of the helmet to act as a cohesive unit .

Furthermore, drop down visors have the potential to shatter in the event of an accident further increasing the chances of an eye or other injury.

A cross section of a helmet with a drop down “sun” visor

A closer view of the gap created, by the sun visor, between the inner protective EPS and outer protective shell.

A helmet is designed to act as a cohesive unit with all components acting in unison . The gap created by the sun visor (index finger thick & more in some models) can undermine the helmets structural integrity & ability to protect.

Safety System +

The Desert Fox Safety System + has been designed to enable easy removal of the helmet in the event of an emergency. This is particularly important if a potential spinal cord injury exists. Without this feature a first responder would experience resistance in removing a helmet, which could exacerbate an injury.

The emergency pull tabs have been purposely over-sized making it not only easier for a first responder to identify them but also aids in gripping as only one finger is required.

By simply pulling on the Desert Fox’s emergency tabs the cheek pads slide out. This makes helmet removal easier and reduces rotation of the head and/or spinal cord.

What you should know about Helmets

Dangers of Ultraviolet Radiation

Helmet Safety Standards Explained

Certification Tests

These are some of the certification tests to which Desert Fox helmets are subjected to.

The process begins by conditioning to cover extreme conditions. Units are exposed to temperatures from -20 º C º to 50 º C for 4-6
hours, Hygrometry conditioning at a relative humidity of 65% for 4 hours, UV radiation for 48 hours, moisture conditioning for 4-6 hours
and Solvent conditioning to test resistance to solvents( B/ISO 1817:1985).
Thereafter the following tests are conducted:

Shock absorption test (See Fig. 1)
The helmet is placed on a dummy head. It is then dropped from a height of 2.85 m onto a flat and kerbstone anvil. Three-dimensional sensors inside the dummy head measure the acceleration transmitted to the head. Four points on the helmet are tested one after another. The maximum acceleration of the head form shall not exceed 275 G: the most stringent of any helmet testing certification worldwide. Impact absorption and rotational forces are also tested at points where any surface or part projects from the shell of the helmet.

Roll-Off Test (See Fig. 2)
The chin strap system is a very important safety element, it has the fundamental task to guarantee that the helmet will remain correctly placed on the head in case of an accident. The chin strap buckle system is
tested for slippage under load, and the strap material itself is tested for abrasion resistance and tension failure. A 10 kg weight attached to the front or back of the helmet is dropped from a defined height in order to measure its tendency to come off the head, either front to back or back to front. The helmet is not allowed to move by more than 30 degrees.

Retention System Test
The retention system is further tested with a dynamic free-fall drop test to measure its resistance. A 10 kg weight, attached to the helmet strap, falls from 0.75 m height. The temporary elongation is measured followed by the permanent elongation afterwards. Both elongations cannot exceed 0.035 m dynamic and 0.025 m for the residue displacement.

Visor tests

Visor Abrasion (scratch resistance) test:
3 kg of abrasive material (natural quartz sand, grain size 0.50/0.7 mm) is allowed to drop through a gravity tube from a height of 1650 mm on the flattest part of the visor, which is fixed on a turntable. The turntable is at a 45 degree angle and spins at 250 rpm. Once the sand is depleted the luminous transmission is measured.Visors must have a minimum luminous (light) transmittance of 80%.

Abrasion resistance
The surface of the helmet is tested for abrasion resistance. In this test the performance standard requires that the helmet surface either shears away or allows the test surface to slip past the helmet. This is to minimize the amount of twisting force the helmet would transmit to the wearer’s head and neck.

Rigidity Test (See Fig. 4)
This test assesses the rigidity of the helmet shell by measuring its deformation while progressively applying a load, from 30 Newton (N) to 630 N, in 100 N increments every 2 minutes.

CHOOSING THE CORRECT SIZE

In order for a helmet to offer protection, it must fit properly, be worn
properly and be properly fastened.

The Desert Fox helmet is manufactured in two shell sizes and in five
different helmet sizes to ensure a comfortable and optimal fit.

1. Measuring your head size. Use a flexible tape measure to determine the
size of your head. Wrap the tape measure around your head approximately 2 cm above the eyebrows, so as to obtain your maximum head circumference.
This value represents your head size in centimeters.

2. Use the sizing chart to select the helmet size that corresponds closely to your head measurement. If your head size falls between two helmet sizes, try the smaller size first and then the larger to determine the most comfortable fit .